Combined cuticle pusher and finger nail cleaner



March 20, T956. M. E. FLEMING 2,738,794

COMBINED CUTICLE PUSHER AND FINGER NAIL CLEANER Filed Dec. 13, 1954 4 5, m (MM/$ M 07 HMO k w ATTORNEY United States Patent ()fiice 2,738,794 Patented 'Mar. 20, 1956 COMBINED CUTICLE PUSHER AND FINGER NAIL CLEANER Margaret E. Fleming, Niagara Falls, N. Y. Application December 13, 1954, Serial No. 474,902 Claims. (Cl. 132-73) The invention relates to manicure tools and particularly to cuticle pushers and finger nail cleaners, this application being related to the application Serial Number 220,063 filed April 9, 1951, entitled Manicure Tool, and the applition Serial Number 354,7 19, filed May 13, 1953, Patent No. 2,710,613 June 14, 1955, entitled Finger Nail Cleaner. Known cuticle pushers are usually made from metal or wood and if they are to be cushioned require additional material, such for example as raw cotton, for cushioning. Known finger nail cleaners are made from metal, wood or stiif cardboard, and being stiff tend to injure or cut the finger nail or the adjacent cuticle. Known finger nail cleaners merely push the dirt along and leave much of it behind. An object of the invention is to provide a selfcushioned cuticle pusher and finger nail cleaner made from material inherently not self-cushioned in a single tool wherein both the cuticle pusher and the finger nail cleaner are located at the forward end of the tool, thus facilitating successive use thereof. Another object is to provide such a tool wherein the cuticle pusher and the finger nail cleaner cooperate in a manner to be described. Another object is to provide such a tool capable of being produced in quantity at small cost and discarded after use, so that it is more sanitary. Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter or will be obvious.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the blanks for making the same.

Figure 3 is a perspective view on a much larger scale of the invention as applied for finger nail cleaning.

Figure 4 is a perspective view on a much larger scale of the invention in position for cuticle pushing.

Figure 5 is a transverse section of the tool on an enlarged scale.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of the tool, partly broken away, and on an enlarged scale.

In the drawings the tool is shown as consisting of a plurality of superposed layers 1 of thin flexible paper having opposite spaced longitudinal edges 2, the forward end portions of said layers consisting of an upper set of superposed tongues 3 having rounded forward edges 3 for cuticle pushing and a lower set of superposed tongues 4 having oblique forward edges 5 intersecting the lower longitudinal edges of said layers in points 6 for finger nail cleaning. Paper fold means 7 are provided for connecting said layers 1 together extending along the lower longitudinal edges of said layers to said points 6, the tongues of each set having their adjacent surfaces free of connection with one another.

The tongues of each set are flexible transversely of the tool to adapt the tongues of the upper set to be brought into hugging relationship with the transversely curved surface of the finger nail in line with the cuticle hugging said surface and to adapt the tongues of the lower set to be spaced apart and form a scoop 8 for scooping up dirt from between the finger nail and the adjacent cuticle, the tongues of the upper set being also adapted to be spaced apart simultaneously with the formation of said scoop to provide additional space 9 for said dirt, said space 9 communicating with and forming an extension of said scoop, as shown in Fig. 3. This additional space 9 is needed inasmuch as the scoop may not be opened wide enough to hold much dirt.

A single tongue of'thin flexible paper is too yieldable rearwardly thereof to form a cuticle pusher or a finger nail cleaner and too yieldable to be cushioned. Therefore the forward end portions of said layers 1 consist of a plurality of superposed tongues for each set, said tongues being each individually yieldable rearwardly thereof and adapted to bear a part of the cuticle pushing or finger cleaning load, and collectively less yieldable and adapted to bear the entire load, which is distributed among said tongues, so that said tongues are collectively self-cushioned.

The tool may be made from a blank 10, having two identical subdivisions constituting the paper layers 1, said blank being folded at 7 to superpose one of its subdivisions as a layer upon the other, to locate the tongues of each set adjacent each other and to provide the paper fold 7 connecting said layers together. Adhesive means 11 may be provided in addition to the paper fold 7 for connecting said layers together, said adhesive being located rearwardly of the tongues of each set. Or alternatively the tool may be made from a plurality of identical blanks 10, each of which has two identical subdivisions constituting the paper layers 1, each blank being folded at 7 to superpose one of its subdivisions as a layer upon the other, to locate the tongues of each set adjacent each other and to provide the paper fold 7 connecting said layers together, the folded blanks being interfitted to provide a multiple fold tool, adhesive means 11' being used to connect the interfitted folded blanks together rearwardly of the tongues of each set.

In use of the tool as a cuticle pusher, it may be grasped between the thumb and middle finger of one hand and guided by the index finger pressing down upon the tongues of the upper set to cause them to hug the nail, the tool being operable evenly around the cuticle of a finger of the other hand to push the cuticle rearwardly. In use of the tool as a finger nail cleaner it may be grasped between the thumb and index finger of one hand and pressure exerted upon the tool to enter the tongues of the lower set between the finger nail and the adjacent cuticle of a finger of the other hand, said pressure being resisted to cause the tongues of the lower set to open and form the scoop 8 for scooping up dirt from between the finger nail and the adjacent cuticle, said pressure also causing the tongues of the upper set to open and provide said additional space 9 for said dirt. However the tool may be grasped with very little change in the grasp for successive use thereof in cuticle pushing and finger nail cleaning.

The tool may be centrally longitudinally creased at 12. to make it somewhat concave-convex as shown in Fig. 5 to aid in holding it in form, inasmuch as it is necessarily quite thin.

The paper material of which the tool is stated to be composed may be substituted by any other equivalent material. The thinness of the paper is subject to some variation. It is to be understood that I am entitled to any other toilet uses for which the tool may be adapted and to modifications coming within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A manicure tool consisting of a plurality of superposed identical layers of thin flexible paper having opposite spaced longitudinal edges, the forward end portions of said layers consisting of an upper set of superposed tongues having rounded forward edges for cuticle pushing and a lower set of superposed tongues having oblique forward edges intersecting the lower longitudinal edges of said layers in points for finger nail cleaning, and paper fold means for connecting said layers together extending along the lower longitudinal edges of said layers to said points, the tongues of each set having their adjacent surfaces free of connection with one another.

2. A manicure tool as defined in claim 1, in which the tongues of each set are flexible transversely of the tool to adapt the tongues of the upper set to be brought into hugging relationship with the transversely curved surface of the finger nail in line with the cuticle hugging said surface and to adapt the tongues of the lower set to be spaced apart and form a scoop for scooping up dirt from between the finger nail and the adjacent cuticle, the tongues of the upper set being also adapted to be spaced apart simultaneously with the formation of said scoop to provide additional space for said dirt, said space communicating With and forming an extension of said scoop.

3. A manicure tool as defined in claim 1, in which the tongues of each set are each individually yieldable rearwardly thereof and adapted to bear a part of the cuticle 4 pushing or finger cleaning load, and collectively less yieldable and adapted to bear the entire load, which is distributed among said tongues, so that said tongues are collectively self-cushioned.

4. A manicure tool as defined in claim 2, in which the tool is made from a blank having two identical subdivisions, said blank being folded to superpose one of its subdivisions as a layer upon the other, to locate the tongues of each set adjacent each other and to provide said paper fold connecting the layers together.

5. A manicure tool as defined in claim 2, in which the tool is made from a plurality of identical blanks each of which has two identical subdivisions, each blank being folded to superpose one of its subdivisions as a layer upon the other, to locate the tongues of each set adjacent each other and to provide said paper fold connecting the layers together, the folded blanks being interfitted to provide a multiple fold tool, and adhesive means for connecting the interfitted folded blanks together rearwardly of the tongues of each set.

No references cited. 

